Today’s news headlines included a big story on Ally Financial halting foreclosure evictions in 23 states. Ally Financial opted to make this decision when it was revealed that a document processor had signed off on thousands of foreclosures without reviewing the documents. This revelation opens the possibility of legal challenges that would address the legitimacy of the foreclosure process.
Ally Financial is formerly known as GMAC. Ally is also known to have processed foreclosure documents for mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. A little bit of digging revealed that Hawaii is one of the states impacted. It is too early to tell how many potential foreclosures would be impacted on Maui, but GMAC had a fair sized lending presence on the island.
We continue to see a sizable number of foreclosures that are in process on Maui. Most of these properties are not being sold at auction. They end up reverting back to the banks and being listed through Realtors as bank owned or REO properties. We will continue to keep an eye on the Allied bank story especially if it is revealed to have a broader impact on the Hawaii and Maui Real Estate market.
